1 Page layout
Page titles, summaries and headings
We keep page titles, summaries and headings as short and to the point as possible to aid users to scan content. This also keeps the page presentation neat. Where relevant, we might use abbreviations in titles.
Examples
Title: rather than 'How to apply for an XYZ permit', we might use 'Apply for an XYZ permit'. An example of an abbreviation in a title could be Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice (OAIP).
Summary: rather than 'The eligibility criteria and how to make your application' we might use 'Eligibility and application process'.
Headings: rather than 'Can I get an XYZ permit?', we might use 'Eligibility'. or rather than 'Make your application', we might use 'Apply now'.
Page structure and formatting
We use subheadings to break up text. This means users can scan to easily find information relevant to them. We keep paragraphs short for the same reason.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations are specified at the point mentioned in the text, not in separate sections on a page. Once we have specified the abbreviation once, we use the abbreviation on the rest of the page. For example, we specify West Sussex County Council (WSCC) at first mention, then use WSCC afterward on the page.
We try to make sure that we give abbreviations in main body text or headings as close to the top of the page as possible.
Abbreviations in an accordion style element
Accordion style elements have collapsible sections that expand for viewing. We cannot assume that a customer will open any of the collapsible sections. Therefore, if the abbreviation is not already stated on the page, we:
- provide the full wording with abbreviation in brackets at first mention in each collapsible section
- only use the abbreviation within that same collapsible section
- provide the full wording with abbreviation in brackets again in any text after the accordion
For frequent abbreviations, see the glossary.
Frequently asked questions
We are often asked to provide sections of frequently asked questions. We try not to use these because they:
- make it more difficult for users to find information
- lead to duplication
For more information, see the GOV.UK blog post FAQs: why we don't have them.
2 Grammar and wording
Here, we detail our standards around grammar.
Upper and lower case
The following details the ways we use capital letters (upper case) across the site.
Titles
Only capitalise the first letter of a title or heading (unless it contains a proper noun), for example:
- Report a pothole
- Apply for or renew a Blue Badge
Proper nouns
When naming a specific person, place or thing we use capitals as these are proper nouns, for example:
- West Sussex County Council
- Bognor Regis Family Hub
- Joe Bloggs, Teacher (name and job title capitalised as it is a specific person in their named job)
- Blue Badge
- UK Government
If we are referring to places or things generally, these are lower case. Follow these example sentences:
Speak to your child's teacher.
The county council issues blue badges.
There are several family hubs across the county.
Deadlines for admission applications are set by the government.
Team or department names
In general, we refer to team names with 'the' in lower case, the team name with upper case for each part of the name and the word 'team' or 'department' in lower case. There are some exceptions noted in our glossary.
Examples include:
- the Recruitment team
- the Finance department
More information
See Scribblr for more guidance about the use of proper nouns.
Special characters and punctuation
We do not use:
- / between words - we use 'and' and 'or', or phrase differently
- & - we always use 'and' not the ampersand symbol except if it is part of a proper noun (title of company and so on)
- repeated characters for effect, one is sufficient (for example we do not use !!! or ...?)
- apostrophes with numbers (1990s not 1990's)
- the Oxford comma, unless the text requires it to make sense
We may use an ellipsis where we are quoting a person, but not using the full quote. For example, if the full quote was "Our wedding ceremony at Long Furlong barn was beautiful" and the location wasn't relevant, we would use "Our wedding ceremony... was beautiful".
We may also use the % (percentage) symbol where appropriate.
Spelling
We use UK English spelling.
Note the common spelling confusion around licence and license. Licence is a noun, for example "Apply for a driving licence", Licensing is a verb, for example "licensed to drive".
The same is true for practice (GP practice) and practising (a practising GP). Spelling the noun with an 's' is using the American spelling.
3 Specific words
This page details how we use particular words where the standard requires some explanation. For simpler wording we have a glossary. For advice about general tone, see writing in plain English.
How we use 'please'
Use the word please only:
- once on a page if strictly necessary
- when we are asking for something - not when the action is necessary to perform a task or informing the customer of unavoidable information
Example sentences without using 'please'
Applications take up to 6 weeks to process.
Make sure you enclose the necessary documents.
We are performing website maintenance today between 11.00am and 1.00pm. The site may be unavailable during this period.
To make an application, complete our online form.
Examples of correct usage of 'please'
Please take part in our customer survey by completing the feedback form.
Let us know what you think, please email.
Etc, eg and ie
We do not use etc, eg and ie - with or without a full stop between. Use relevant phrases to replace them - for example, such as, and so on.
4 Bullet points and steps
This section details how we format bullet points and steps.
We use bullet points to clearly show lists. We do not present lists in paragraphs as they are harder to read and understand.
Bullet points
We try to ensure bullet lists are not too long. We make sure that we use:
- a lead-in line
- more than one bullet
- bullets that make sense running on from the lead-in line
- lower case at the start of the bullet
We make sure that we do not:
- use numbers for bullets - use these only for steps in a process as below
- use more than one sentence per bullet - use commas or hyphens to expand on an item
- use 'and' or 'or' after a bullet
- make the whole bullet a link if it is a long phrase
- put a semicolon at the end of a bullet
- use a full stop after the last bullet
Each bullet should form a complete sentence following the lead-in text, as with the examples above. Sometimes it may be necessary to add a short phrase to clarify whether all or some of the points apply, for example "You will need to take one of the following forms of identification:"
If the bullet list is not exhaustive, we make sure other conditions or actions are clear or only use a small number of examples, noting that other options may exist.
We make exceptions to the above for lists under a 'Supporting documents' or 'Useful links' heading.
Excepted lists
When considering an excepted list we:
- avoid using a 'Useful links' section where possible to limit the number of links appearing on a page
- avoid using a 'Useful documents' section where possible to limit the number of documents since it is more accessible to have information presented directly on the page than within a document
Here is an example of the formatting of an excepted list:
Supporting documents
- Title of document (document type, document size)
- A guide to applying for school places (PDF, 3.3MB)
- Referral form (Word, 52KB)
- Spend data April 2024 (CSV, 43MB)
Contact details
We may sometimes use bullets when providing contact details in circumstances where this looks better on the page. This is a judgment that a team member makes when creating the content. When we use bullet lists to present contact details we use this format:
- Online form: Active link to the online form
- Email: customer.services@westsussex.gov.uk
- Phone: 01243 777100
Steps
We use numbered steps rather than bullet points to guide customers through a process. These do not need a lead-in line.
5 Links and transactional pages
Generally, we will add links to mainstream sites like GOV.UK.
For links to less well-known sites we will consider whether:
- adding the link will help meet a clear user need
- it helps the user to complete a task
The sites we link to must:
- be reputable
- provide high quality information
- work on a mobile device
- have clear privacy, data and cookie policies
- meet our accessibility standards
Regular review of links is necessary to ensure they are not broken and that the content of the site is sill relevant, appropriate and current.
Writing links
When we write links we must:
- not add links in titles, summaries or subheadings
- not use the same link text to link to different places
- avoid linking to the same place more than once where possible - where you have to, use the same or similar link text to ensure the message is the same
- make them contextual, describing the content it's linking to, not generic 'click here'
- match the heading of the page they link to, where possible
- keep the text lower case, including for any actual page names, unless there are proper nouns in the text
- where possible, provide them within the relevant text, not as a 'useful link' section
- try to place them at the end of sentences as this is best for accessibility
- write surrounding text to make it clear where the customer will end up
Linking to assets
When we write links to assets (such as PDF, Word, Excel documents and so on) we:
- separate them from the main body text
- do not link to documents on an external website - link to the page where users can find the document
- the link should comprise the file name, followed by the file type and size in brackets
Examples of correct link formatting
Use the GOV.UK website to book your driving test.
For more information, see our page to apply for or renew a Blue Badge.
Transactional pages
Where we want to link from a landing page to an external website or one of our own microsite templates, we must use a transactional page to ease the customer journey. Linking from a landing page to a very different looking site is jarring for the customer as there is no text around it to make it clear where they will end up (see above point in 'Writing links').
For an example of a transactional page on the main website, see the become a foster carer page.
For an example of a transactional page on the microsite templates, see the business climate action page.
6 Dates and times
Below, we present examples of how we format dates and times. We then outline the formatting standards in detail.
Example formatting
The library will re-open on Saturday 21 December 2024 at 9.00am.
The Customer Service Centre is open Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 6.00pm.
This form will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
The course date is Tuesday 1 April 2025. Lunch takes place between 12 noon and 1.00pm.
These are the term dates for the 2025-2026 academic year.
General date and time standards
Dates and times should:
- always use the word 'to' rather than hyphens for ranges of date or time
- never contain a zero in front of single digit day or time numbers
- never contain abbreviations for
- days
- months
- hours
- minutes
- years
- never split over 2 lines
- never be a general reference such as '2 years ago' or 'in 10 minutes'
Date specific standards
In addition to the general date and time standards above, dates should contain:
- no punctuation (never formatted as numerals with / between numbers)
- the full year (for example 2024 not 24)
When referring to years that overlap calendar years, like financial or academic years, we use the years in full with a hyphen (not /) between - for example, the financial year 2024-2025.
Time specific standards
In addition to the general date and time standards, times should:
- not be 24-hour clock
- not contain dots between the letters am or pm
- not state 12.00am or 12.00pm - we use 12 noon or midday, 12 midnight or midnight
7 Numbers and currency
This page details how we format numbers and currency.
General numbers and currency
When writing about both numbers generally and currency we use:
- commas for clarity for numbers over 999
- decimals to 2 places, for example 3.06MB, £7.50 and so on
- 0 where there is no digit before a decimal point
- 0 where an amount is zero (not 0.0)
- full words, not abbreviations (for example millions, kilometres and so on)
- the word 'to' to separate numbers, including in addresses, not a hyphen
Example formatting
There are over 4,000 kilometres of highway in West Sussex.
We expect to spend £131.6 million.
The office is located at 5 to 7 London Road, Anytown.
The walk between the station and office is 0.76 kilometres long.
Numbers
When writing numbers we:
- use 'one' written in full, unless it is part of a step in a list
- write all other numbers as numerals, unless it is part of a common phrase where numerals would seem strange for example, 'one or two'
- write numbers in full at the start of a sentence, except in titles and headings
- spell out fractions, for example one-half, three-quarters and so on
- use the percentage symbol - % - not per cent as wording
Ordinal numbers
Spell first to ninth, after which use 10th, 11th, 12th and so on.
Currency
When formatting currency we:
- use the pound symbol - £ - before the amount
- do not use 'p' to denote pence after the amount
- do not use decimals where there are no pence, for example £45
- do not use '£0.xx million' for amounts less than £1 million. For example, we write £360,000 not £0.36 million
- write pence in full, for example 50 pence.
Example formatting
We pay a flood defence levy of £365,000.
A photocopy costs 50 pence.
The licence costs £45.
8 Email addresses and phone numbers
This details how we format email addresses and phone numbers.
Email addresses
These should always be:
- a generic department address, not a person-specific account
- fully lower case format
- an active link
Phone numbers
We always use phone, not telephone. We format:
- area code, then number: 01243 777100
- phone numbers: 033 022 12345
- without active links
- without brackets